Finmeccanica subsidiary AgustaWestland has uncovered its “Project Zero” effort, which is tiltrotor a technology demonstrator (TD). The electrically powered aircraft has two integrated rotors that can be tilted more than 90 degrees and long wings, with an appearance that closer resembles a fixed-wing aircraft than a traditional helicopter.

The demonstrator has been flying since June 2011 at AgustaWestland’s facility in Cascina Costa, Italy. CEO Daniele Romiti said that AgustaWestland “strongly believes in the tiltrotor concept as the future of high-speed rotorcraft flight as it offers much greater speed and range than compound helicopter technology.”Related:Technology News